Pope Acknowledges Climate Change to the Dismay of the GOP

The Papal Encyclical released on Thursday called for a revision of common Catholic thought concerning climate change.

Pope Francis, already hailed as the most progressive pope in decades, has continuously made strides to modernize the church’s antiquated worldview. Refusing to pass judgment on the issue of same-sex marriage and now imploring policy makers to take climate change more seriously, the changing of the guard is now in full swing.

The pope warns of the perils posed by climate change in the encyclical citing,

“Unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequence for all of us” were the problem to continue unimpeded. He continued to say that, “Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day.”

A key point that Francis made concerned the divergence of technological development and personal responsibility. As technology progresses, in turn leading to economic growth, humans have not properly tackled the responsibility that comes hand in hand with the consequences, or in the words of Francis, “Our immense technological development has not been accompanied by development in human responsibility, values and conscience.”

Imbedded within his argument is an indictment of the privileged individual. Drawing a tie between the poor population and climate change, the current status quo will only exacerbate an inequality of resources. The pope’s encyclical also commented on the human rights issues surrounding climate change, a dimension of the issue that is often overlooked. He stressed that poor people will bear the brunt of climate change.

The papal adoption of such a policy puts many GOP candidates in quite the quagmire. Conservative catholic candidates such as Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio now must weigh religion with politics. For many politicians, regardless of party, energy and gas companies have astoundingly strong lobbying positions. In rejecting the merits and science behind climate change, millions can raise from such companies to improve campaigns.

This change contradicts the views of many conservative Catholics in America. This change in papal policy will prove particularly vexing for the GOP. Regardless of which candidate happens to be nominated, this encyclical has brought climate change once again to the fore.

It will be interesting to see how each candidate approaches the topic. Backtracking on such a crucial topic is typically inadvisable, but this is a unique situation due to the religious implications. While all signs point to a continuation of denial, this would be the perfect opportunity for the GOP to shift its platform.

With the encyclical as justification, the GOP can move now to attract more young voters in anticipation for an undoubtedly close presidential race. However, with so much money on the line from strong industrial lobbys, change is unlikely to come to fruition.

To be fair, at a time of rampant economic instability and ambiguity, curbing emissions may have a negative impact on unemployment. That said, the time for drastic policy to address climate change has come and pass.

The pope has demanded global and comprehensive action to address the environmental issues that plague the world. Leaders should listen.